OOPs, I mixed up some names in the previous posting. I meant Hokusai NOT Keiko! That will be corrected in the Fan Fiction . net posting.
The Mahoutokoro mess hall wasn't quite as elegant as the dinning hall at Hogwarts, Black Jack thought as they entered. It was also quite a bit smaller in size ad the school's enrollment was only a fraction of its European counterpart. It was well lit by candle chandeliers floating just below the ceiling without any obvious means of support, and the candles never did seem to burn down. The walls of the room were of sliding rice paper dividers, the kind very common in ancient Japan. They were decorated with artwork done with black ink, depicting scenes common in the times of the Shoguns and Samurai.
The headmaster led them to the staff area, and ushered them to a group of empty seats. As they sat down, hand written menus appeared in front of them. “I hope there is something that each of you will find to your taste on our limited menu,” Hokusai told them in an apologetic voice.
As the Doctor and Pinoko scanned the menus, another professor approached the table. “Do you mind if I join you, Headmaster Hokusai?”, Kitaoka asked.
“Certainly!,” the headmaster replied.
“Arigatōgozaimashita,” Keiko smiled. “I was hoping to get to know our new potions instructor better, and I'm pleased to be able to lunch with you, Black Jack – Sensei”.
“You're specialty is divination, isn't it?” the doctor asked.
“Yes, that and the dark arts, or rather how to defend ones self against them,” she nodded. “I've been curious about you, Sensei. You possess the rod of Aclepius wand, don't you. That would identify your linage as going far back as the founding of several of the wizarding schools,” she questioned, motioning for one of the servers to approach the table.
“Yes, I was adopted by that famous wand,” the doctor voiced modestly, “though I am not at all certain about my blood line. You have probably already deduced that I only recently discovered my magical heritage.”
A young man in student's robes carrying a tray approached their table, and poured each of its four occupants a tall glass of honey beer, except for Pinoko who was offered an ice cream float.
Pinoko's face brightened with delight as she grabbed at the glass and stuck the straw in her mouth to quickly down its contents, finishing off with a loud slurping sound.
“Pinoko!, the doctor said sternly, that's not very lady like!”
“That's quite OK, sensei!”, the headmaster laughed. “Young lady, would you like a refill on that?”
“Yes please!”, Pinoko replied.
The headmaster produced his wand, and holding it in his left hand over her glass, snapped the fingers on his right hand and the glass suddenly refilled itself.
The doctor meanwhile slowly drained his mug of honey beer. “I'm impressed headmaster Hokusai,” Kuro smiled. “Your beer is much better that the Hogwarts brew!”
“We try,” he voiced, shrugging his shoulders.
“Oh, dear,” Kitaoka Hakase announced with a sad voice. “I've totally forgotten that I haven't finished my preparations for my next class, the timing of which was changed to an earlier hour.”
“My fault, I'm afraid,” the headmaster said. “I did have to move some classes around to fit the doctor's schedule requirements.”
“I'm sorry to inconvenience you,” Black Jack apologized .
“Don't be,” the divination instructor answered, “I knew about the change well enough in advance, I need to manage my time better.” She pointed to the menu card, “Please enjoy your lunch, perhaps we can talk later.”
The doctor looked down on the menu, and while his gaze was fixed there, Kitaoka stealthily picked up the doctors empty mug, and dropped it into her rob pocket.
Mahoutokoro
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Re: Mahoutokoro
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Re: Mahoutokoro
Five
The Witch Queen
-----------------
Minami-Iōtō Island
Kitaoka Keiko Mahōtsuka gazed into the obsidian mirror and summoned Himiko. The image of the long dead witch queen materialized out of the dark fog beneath the mirror's surface.
“Do you have the warlock who controls the Aclepius wand, and do you have my son?”, Himiko demanded.
“I've made contact with Black Jack San, Keiko replied. My wizards have a sample of his saliva, so it won't be long before we know if he is the one. Your son is now a student of Mahoutokoro, though he is picked up every morning by the petrels, and he returns home to his mother at night.”
“I am his mother!”, the witch queen replied in a violent voice.
“But the boy does not yet know of his past life,” Kitaoka protested, “I have not yet started to enlighten him.”
The anger in Himiko's eyes subsided slightly. “That task will be mine” she replied. “You must accelerate your efforts with the doctor. I have been a prisoner behind this dark veil far too long!”
“It will not be much longer, my queen,” Kitaoka promised. “We are almost ready!”
------------------------
Ministry of Science, Professors Ochanomizo's office
Ieyasu Tokugawa barged into the office, followed by Yuko Kisaragi. “I'm sorry Hakasei,” she apologized, “I couldn't stop him!”
“Not your fault, Yuko,” the professor offered, turning to his uninvited guest. “I told you, Tokugawa – San, I'd get back to you when I knew more!”
“That's not good enough!,” the industrialist yelled. It's already been over a week, and my losses are mounting. I'll sue the ministry for every yen I've lost if you don't lift the restraining order!”
“I'm sorry, Tokugawa San, but it's beyond my control now,” the professor shot back. “That restraining order was issued by the prefecture governing board. At this point I'm only one name on the list that needs to sign off to lift the order.”
“So you've signed off on the order?” Ieyasu demanded.
“Of course not!”,Hiroshi answered. “We still don't know what happened to your two scientists, and we are getting very disturbing seismic readings from within the site. In my opinion, and those of the governing board, it's too dangerous to allow you to continue your construction. I've ordered the equipment necessary to drill beneath the site to get some core samples. If the analysis of such samples shows that the ground is stable, then maybe we can give you the all clear.”
“Why didn't you say that earlier?”, Tokugawa cried back. “I can get a drill team hear in under twelve hours, I have at least one oil rig crew I can pull off from other duties.”
“Your oil drilling rigs would be like using an atomic bomb to kill a fly!”, Ochanomizu yelled back. “Our equipment will get the samples without destroying the environment, and any archaeological finds that might still be down there.”
Ieyasu's face turned a deep purple as he held in his rage. “Very well,” he finally spat out, “we'll do it your way for now, but if I don't hear back in a few days I'll be back with my own crew!”
“Try that, and you'll answer to the army!” the professor shot back. “I have the emperor's backing on this!”
------------------------------
Divination class
Akio looked up on the chalkboard at the front of the classroom where a seating chart had been crudely drawn. He found his name, and noted that his seat was at the front of the classroom, just to the left of the instructors desk. He took his seat as the rest of the students entered. It was a small class of only a dozen students.
Kitaoka Keiko entered the classroom and scanned the desks. She noticed Akio sitting in the seat that she had assigned him, but didn't make it obvious to the boy that she was studying him. She went through the motions of ordering some papers on her desk, and then carefully removed a large crystal ball, and obsidian mirror from a large drawer in the bottom of the desk.
“Welcome to divination instruction, beginners level,” Keiko smiled at her students. “To start off with can somebody tell us just what divination is?”
Akio quickly raised his hand, being anxious to participate. Kitaoka Hakasei seemed pleased that the boy wasn't shy, it might make her task easier. She glanced down at the seating chart as an act, she knew who had raised his hand. “Akio – Kun,” she spoke, “do you have the answer?”
The boy stood up and faced the class, “Divination is the ability to see into the future, usually by use of a crystal ball,” he answered, with just a bit of interrogative in his voice.
“That is partially correct,” the instructor told him as Akio sat down and faced the front of the room. “Divination involves seeing beyond what is obvious or in front of you,” she explained. “It can be to foretell future events, to explore the past, even to speak with the spirits of those who have departed to the great beyond. Divination can also allow the Seer to observe what is currently transpiring elsewhere, whether in the next room, or halfway across the world. Usually a dark reflective surface such as this obsidian mirror,” which she then held up for the students to see, “or a thick refractive surface such as a crystal sphere,” at which see touched the large crystal ball sitting in plain sight on the desk, “are used to capture the seer's focus. However these objects are just tools, they possess no actual enchantment, however they must be near perfect surfaces to give the most performance.”
Kitaoka picked up a heavy box from the floor and carried it toward her students. “Today we will all test our talents as seers with mirrors,” she told them. “Each of you will select one of the obsidian mirrors I have in this box.” She first approached Akio and handed him the largest of the dark objects, “Since you were brave enough to answer the first question, I will reward you with the best of the mirrors.”
Akio felt the weight of the large mirror and carefully laid it down flat on his desk while the instructor handed out the much smaller remaining obsidians to his classmates.
“For our first assignment, we will all attempt to make contact with a loved one, one of your parents. I want you to concentrate on your mother, or father and see where they are, and what they are doing,” Kitaoka told her students. She walked around the classroom, observing the children gazing into their mirrors, deep in concentration. As she pass by Akio, she placed one hand on his back, and with her other hand, she pointed her wand at the mirror the boy was clutching with both hands. Keiko quietly voiced an incantation adding the name Himiko to the spell.
Akio's mind thought of his mother at home as he concentrated his attention towards the dark reflection of the obsidian mirror. At first all he could see was his own face dimly reflected in the black surface of the volcanic glass. Gradually, the reflection became foggy and out of focus. The boy tried looking cross-eyed into the mirror and the fog slowly lifted. He then saw a woman in an ancient royal robe adorned with gold and jade. Her voice slowly became audible to him, though he heard nothing. “At last I can see you Musuko!”, the queen's image resonated in his mind.
Akio found himself floating in front of her, inside of the throne room of an ancient castle. “Who are you?”, he asked, voicing nothing, while moving his lips.
“I am your true Mother!”, the queen replied. “You will soon return to me! Remember this!”
Akio felt dizzy, and he dropped the mirror into his lap. Gradually the vertigo faded, as he became aware of his surroundings, and could hear the voice of his instructor.
“How did you do students?”, Kitaoka asked. “If you became a bit dizzy, don't worry. That is a good sign that you have made a connection, even if you didn't reach your goal. Controlling the divination experience will take practice, but first you have to be able to reach out beyond your self.”
Akio raised his hand, and the instructor pointed to him. “This was very weird,” he voiced. “I think I traveled back in time to meet an ancestor, I got very dizzy too.”
“Excellent!” Keiko told him. “You have taken the first step of a long journey!” While the boy wasn't looking she slipped a pocket sized dark glass mirror into one of the larger pockets of his robe. She also whispered a subliminal suggestion into the boys ear while holding her wand over his head.
-----------------------
Doctor Black Jack's Clinic
Pinoko brushed the soot off herself as she and the doctor stepped out of the fireplace in their great room. “Are we going back again tomorrow?” she asked.
“No,” Kuro replied. “We are seeing patients right here tomorrow, I will go back to my students the day after that, however.”
“You mean we both will,” she pouted.
“If you insist,” the doctor gave in. “I was hoping you'd eventually get bored and stay home to do house work.”
“No chance,” Pinoko replied.
“Well, for now anyway,” Black Jack laughed.
“Also why did we leave early? I thought the students didn't go home until just before dark,”
“That's true,” the doctor admitted. “But, my duties were done for the day.” He then removed his wand from his robe pocket. “I do have to see that Akio makes it home OK, and talk to his mother. I'll be back home in a few hours.”
“OK,” Pinoko answered. “Dinner will be ready when you return, so don't be late.”
“I promise,” Kuro said, removing some of the floo powder from his pocket. He waved the wand to start a small fire in the fireplace, and then tossed some of the powder into it. “Headmasters study, Mahoutokoro,” he spoke and walked into the flames.
Mahoutokoro
Black Jack made his way out of the headmasters study after walking out of the fireplace therein. He found Akio waiting at the departure depot where a flock of the giant Storm Petrels were waiting for them. The doctor caught up with his patient. “How did classes go today?” he asked.
“Well I enjoyed your potions class very much.” the boy started. “Broom basics was fun, but we didn't really get to fly, just hover while still tied to the ground with a tether. I can't wait to do some real broom flying so I can try out for the Quidditch team. My Divination intro class was a bit weird though.”
“How so?” the doctor asked.
“First of all, I got the impression that I'm becoming the teacher's pet. Kitaoka Keiko Hakasei rewarded me with the use of her largest mirror, and then when I tried using it I found myself in an ancient throne room with a long dead queen calling me her son.”
“I've never tried divination,” the doctor admitted, “Though I did make use of a crystal ball as a communication device.”
“We haven't been instructed on that yet,” Akio nodded.
“I'm in a bit of a hurry to get home,” Black Jack admitted, “Would you mind if I transported us?”
“Do you mean Apparition?”, the boy asked.
“I can do that,” the doctor replied, “Though I'm no expert, I can safely carry you home that way. Give my your hand.”
The boy grabbed Black Jack's left hand, while the doctor held his wand in his outstretched right hand. Kuro concentrated on the boys home location, and knew exactly where he wanted the two of them to end up. They both slowly dissolved from view, and just as slowly reappeared in an empty field just outside Akio's home.
“That was even weirder than my divination experience today,” the boy admitted. “I don't think I'd like to try that again any time soon!”
“Yes, I've been told that my Apparition technique is a bit unorthodox,” the doctor admitted. “However it does work for me, though I rarely use it.”
“Then how will you get back home,” Akio asked.
“I think I will ask your mother to use her phone, and I will then call myself a cab!”, he laughed.
--------------------------------
Akio watched as the doctor left in the taxi, and then re-entered his home.
“I don't think I quite understand what the doctor has told me,” Akio's mother sighed. “He told me you were really a special person, with abilities that needed special attention to develop, and the school that he enrolled you in will help you do this.”
“Yes, mother,” Akio answered. “You know how some people have ESP? Well I'm sorta kinda like that, but even more so,” he said.
“Yes, that is the analogy that Black Jack Sensei used,” she agreed. “But I don't understand it.”
“Look mom, the really good thing is that I'm now making friends with people just like me. I'm not an outsider anymore.”
“Yes, that is a good thing,” his mother sighed. “Perhaps you won't have those horrible anger spells anymore.”
“I doubt that I will,” Akio assured her. “I feel I can control those feelings now!”
“Well, go wash up and change your clothes,” she asked, “Dinner will be ready soon.”
The boy went to his room and removed his school robe. As he hung it up he noticed a bulge in the large pocket of the robe. He felt inside and discovered the small obsidian mirror. Akio starred into the dark reflective surface and suddenly felt himself again transported back in time and space.
“Listen to me son!”, Himiko spoke. The long dead queen of Yamatai placed her hands on the boy's shoulders. “My earthly remains have been brought to the island of Minami-Iōtō, where Mahoutokoro, the school that I founded is located. Only the power in the rod of Asclepius wand that your sensei has can bring me back to the living. You have already been given your student want. Though it is no match for the Asclepius wand, you will be able to place the spell that I will give you on the doctor, and he will then bring me back to life.”
“Yes mother!”, Akio replied. “But how will I ….”
“All in good time,” Himiko assured him, “All in good time. Keep your obsidian mirror safe, I will be with you!”
“Akio!” his mother yelled, “Dinner!”
The boy snapped out of his trance and carefully returned the mirror to his robe pocket. He quickly changed into his pajamas, and ran to the dinning room table where his mother had set his dinner.
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Re: Mahoutokoro
Six
Himiko
Minami-Iōtō Island
The original site of the Mahoutokoro wizarding school, back in the days of Yamatai had been in an ancient castle that was destroyed during an eruption of the now extinct volcano that had pushed itself up from the ocean floor to become the island of Minami-Iōtō. The jade walled castle that the school now occupies was built on top of the ruins of the original.
Kitaoka Keiko Mahōtsuka carefully walked down the old stairs that she had discovered years ago behind the kitchen of the dining hall. It lead to a large hallway where many passages had once been, now all but one them were blocked off by rubble from an ancient cave in when Minami-Iōtō had last erupted.
The sole open passage led to Himiko's ancient throne room. At the back of the room stood Himiko's jade throne. It was upon this throne that Kitaoka would sit, obsidian mirror in hand, and meditate to contact her queen. Hanging on the walls were faded ink drawn renditions of the ancient kingdom that the witch queen had once ruled. Kitaoka entered the throne room and stood before the jaded chair. She crossed her arms and put herself into a deep trance to prepare to apparate. Then with her mind set, she suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared elsewhere.
She was now beneath the throne room in a dark, dank dungeon. In a corner of the space was a pile of rubble that now blocked a passageway that once led up to the hallway access to the throne room. Sitting in the center of the dungeon lay the sealed sarcophagus containing the earthly remains of the ancient ruler of Yamatai. As she materialized, the previously dark torches hanging on the walls suddenly burst into light. She noted that her three wizards in their gray robes were waiting for her.
“Well,” she demanded, “Have you done your testing!”
“All is in order,” the tallest of the wizards replied. “We are ready now!”
He produced a glass goblet from his robe and placed it on a table in the middle of the room. “I've recovered samples of the doctor's spit from the glass that you provided,” he began. “Some of it is in this goblet. We've prepared the necessary potions,” he explained, pointing to two small cauldrons on the table. The wizard then put a small glass tube into the first cauldron, and placed his finger over its far opening. He then put the tube into the goblet, and removed his finger, allowing the liquid in the tube to flow into the glass. “Now observe!”
The liquid began to bubble. “This test proves that the doctor is of pure magical blood,” the wizard explained.
“But we already knew that!” Kitaoka yelled.
“Yes, but it does verify that your sample was pure,” the wizard nodded. “Now for the real test.”
He took a second glass tube and filled it from the other cauldron, and then added the contents to the goblet. For a few moments nothing seemed to happen. Suddenly the goblet began to glow with a blue light. Gradually, the glow increased in brightness until the light was so brilliant that it hurt ones eyes to look at it. Finally, all at once, it seemed to explode with a flash that was so bright that nothing could be seen except for the light, it was like a white out in the antarctic.
It took several minutes for their eyes to recover from the flash. “What just happened?” Kitaoka asked.
“This test measures how far the doctor's ancestry goes back.” the wizard replied. “The three of us verified that the potions were correct by testing it on our selves. We produced a bright light, but it was not so painful on our eyes as to blind us, nor did it produce the explosion of light we just saw. Clearly, Dr. Black Jack can trace his ancestry as far back as Himiko, perhaps even further!”
Kitaoka laughed with a wicked smile. “So it appears that he is the real deal. He will be able to bring our queen back! Now all we have to do is force him to do it!”
“That may not be easy,” the middle wizard warned her. “With the strength of power that the doctor has, he will be able to resist whatever magic you may try on him.”
“Ah, but we have two advantages over him,” Kitaoka pointed out. “First, he is still only mastering his witchcraft and doesn't know his own strength or how to use it. Secondly, he has a weakness in his child bride. We can use that against him.”
“Yes, that may work,” the shortest wizard agreed, “but if it fails, his wrath will be impossible to withstand!”
“I'll risk that,” Keiko replied, “for failure here is not an option!”
“How?”, the wizard asked.
“Children are attracted to baubles,” she laughed, producing a small obsidian sphere. She muttered a quick incantation while waving her wand over the black ball. “This will do the trick.” She smiled thinking that her task was almost completed.
Nara city, Nara province
Dr. Black Jack spied Professor Ochanomizu supervising the core drilling operation about a hundred meters from the entrance to the excavation. “I had to postpone a patient's exam till this afternoon to meet you here, I hope this is important Hakasei.”
“It is Sensei, that's why I sent the helicopter to fetch you,” the professor replied. “Reno was able to translate the ancient kanji writing in the tomb. We now know who had been buried there.”
“Let me guess, Himiko, ancient queen of the Wa era,” the doctor replied.
“Yes, but how did you know that?”
“Let's just call it an educated guess,” Kuro laughed.
“We've carefully examined the ruins in the excavation,” Ochanomizu explained, “and we are now drilling for core samples in the strata nearby. So far it appears that the ground is stable, with no immediate risk of any earthquakes. We are not near a fault line as we originally feared.”
“I could have told you that,” the doctor replied.
“Come, let me show you what we've found,” the professor motioned for the doctor to follow him.
The doctor followed Ochanomizu, Reno, and Atom towards the excavation site, and they slowly walked down the slanted passageway leading inside. Atom lit the way with his searchlight eyes. “As you can see, the walls are covered with writing in an ancient form of Kanji,” Reno lectured. “I've been able to translate some of it. As you know, this appears to have been the tomb of the witch queen, Himiko. There was a sarcophagus in here, but it vanished soon after the two scientists sent in by Ieyasu Tokugawa succumb to some poison or microbe that seems to have evaporated. Atom was the only witness to what was inside the open crypt.”
“You saw the remains in the sarcophagus, Atomu?”, Black Jack asked.
The boy robot nodded his head. “It was mummified, Sensei,” he explained. “The face was covered by a Jade death mask, with gold inlay. I can show you.” Atom used his eye searchlights as a holographic projector and displayed a 3 dimensional image of what he saw. The image of the mummy's head covered with the death mask floated in mid air about a meter in front of the boy robot.
“That reminds me of what Howard Carter found in the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun,” Reno said.
“And you still insist that the two scientists were killed by black magic?” Ochanomizu asked.
“Dark Magic, actually.” the doctor corrected. “There were no poisonous agent or microbes involved. And as for the disappearance of the sarcophagus, I think I know what happened to that as well.”
“If I believed in such stuff, I'd say it appears to have been magically transported elsewhere,” the professor laughed.
“Actually, that is what happened to it,” the doctor replied, “and I think I have an idea where it went.”
Mahoutokoro
The doctor and Pinoko popped out of the fireplace in the potions classroom, and dusted themselves off. The ancient clock on the wall indicated that they had arrived early enough to have a spot of breakfast in the Mahoutokoro dinning hall, so they left their things in the desk drawer and headed towards the dinning hall, walking briskly.
The headmaster was seated at the staff table, next to the divination instructor. Kitaoka Keiko smiled as the doctor and Pinoko took their seats across from her and the headmaster. “Good morning Sensei,” she said sweetly, “I'm glad to see you and your assistant again.”
The doctor nodded politely as one of the students approached carrying a tray. Mugs of steaming hot tea were placed in front of the doctor and Pinoko, along with bowls of natto. They partook of the small feast, finishing just as the candles floating above them started to dim.
“Well it looks like the first classes will start soon,” Hokusai said. “We should be going if we want to arrive before our students do.”
“Not a problem,” Keiko cackled as she disappeared in a flash of green light. But just before she apparated from view, Kitaoka stealthy dropped a dark sphere into the doctor's right robe pocket.
“Show off,” Pinoko sighed.
“Well, we don't have far to walk,” Black Jack sighed.
Kuro found the class notes left by the former potions instructor and quickly wrote down the items he'd need for the lecture. He handed the list to Pinoko, “would you please get these ingredients from the shelves?”, he asked her.
“Okey Dokey”, she smiled and set to work collecting the various jars, and placed them neatly on the desk. While she was working the class slowly shuffled in and took their seats. The doctor checked against the seating chart, and waited till the last student arrived before beginning his lecture.
This time, the class was obedient, with no cat calls or laughter, even when the doctor created a puff of oily black smoke that had the odor of skunk fart, by accident. He realized that Pinoko had gotten the wrong jar from the shelf, but the ancient rune script was a bit hard to decipher.
Eventually, the class period ended, and the room emptied. Akio was one of the last students to leave, and Black Jack noticed he'd been a bit quiet during the lecture. “Everything OK, son?”, he asked.
The boy nodded. “Just a bit on my mind, Sensei,” he shrugged.
“Sure, OK,” the doctor replied. “I'll look for you before you leave for home later.”
Akio nodded, and exited the classroom.
The doctor had another class that morning, this time with second year students which involved some more advanced potions. Luckily, Kuro had a copy of Professor Snape's excellent book on the subject, so he was able to refresh him memory on the material. Once again, he had Pinoko fetch the necessary items. This time she had to stack twice as many jars on the desk, but this time the doctor double checked the labels. The lecture went along very well this time, without any mishaps.
As the class ended with the students departing, Pinoko looked up at the clock on the wall. “It's almost noon, Sensei.” she pouted.
“Hungry?”, the doctor inquired. “Well I've heard a rumor that today's lunch will be special.”
They met the headmaster in the dinning hall, this time seated by himself. “I hope you didn't forget that we have a Quidditch practice this afternoon,” he said.
“I haven't,” Black Jack told him. “Hopefully, the team won't be as self destructive as you've warned me.”
“Hopefully not,” Hokusai laughed. “Today I'm personally going to observe while the new students show off their broom skills. Then the current team members will have a little game of chase the snitch.”
“Sounds like fun,” the doctor replied.
The doctor and Pinoko joined headmaster Hokusai in the Quidditch teams locker room. The headmaster handed Kuro a whistle. “Put this in your pocket,” he suggested. “If we have an accident, and you need the boys to stop what they are doing and clear the field, blow that.”
Black Jack put his hand with the whistle into his right hand robe pocket, and felt the strange object that was in the bottom of it. “What is this?” he asked.
The headmaster took the dark sphere from the doctor's hand. “Why it looks like an obsidian seers sphere. I wonder where that came from?
Pinoko's eyes opened wide with curiosity. “That looks like the crystal ball that Professor McGonagall gave me, only it's black. Can I look at it?”, she demanded reaching out to grab if from the headmasters hand.
“Wait!”, Hokusai shouted, too late. As soon as Pinoko had both of her hands on the sphere she vanished in a puff of white smoke.
Akio gazed into the crystal ball that the divination instructor had provided him. The rest of the class also were in deep concentration staring at similar spheres. Kitaoka observed the progress of her students. “Has anyone made contact yet?” she asked.
Today's class assignment had been to attempt to observe the Quidditch team practicing. The outdoor field located near the north wall of the castle was enclosed by a tall wooden fence. It was located on the other side of the school grounds from the classroom where the students sat transfixed upon their task.
Akio had no luck seeing the Quidditch practice, and he really wanted to observe what the team was doing. He couldn't wait till later in the school year when he'd be able to try out for the team.
The bell rang marking the end of the class period. The students snapped out of their trances and returned their attention to the here and now. Kitaoka collected the crystal balls, and bid her students good day. Akio was the last one to get up to leave the classroom.
“Have you forgotten something?” Kitaoka asked the student.
“I don't think so,” Akio answered, just as he felt a burning sensation in his robe pocket. He reached his hand into the pocket and felt the obsidian mirror that he'd left in there since the previous evening. Instinctively he held it up before his eyes and gazed deeply into it.
Himiko's image appeared before the boys eyes, and he was sucked into the depths of the old castle. “It is time, my son!” the witch queen told him, as she waved her wand. Akio suddenly vanished from the classroom in a flash of light as Himiko's spell transformed the mirror he was holding into a portkey.
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Re: Mahoutokoro
Seven
Under Duress
Minami-Iōtō Island
“What just happened to Pinoko!”, the doctor yelled, grabbing the headmaster by his shoulders and shaking him.
“That seer's ball must have been enchanted to become a portkey!”, Hokusai replied. “It seems to have been set up to only respond to Pinoko as both of us handled it with no effect.”
“Then Kitaoka Keiko must be behind this!”, the doctor realized. “But why would she want to kidnap Pinoko.”
“Hmmm,” Hokusai thought, stroking his beard. “Her name often came up in the rumors I've been hearing about this Himiko cult that the shinbun has been reporting on. I've know Keiko for years, I just can't believe that she'd have gotten involved with that sort of thing. Assuming that the gossip was true, then she must want something from you, would be my guess,” he replied.
“Yes, come to think of it, she was quite interested in my wand!”, the doctor replied. “But now how do we find Pinoko?”
“Your wand?”, the headmaster asked. “Let me see it please.”
The doctor pulled the Asclepius wand from his left robe pocket and held it out at arm's length for the headmaster. Hokusai ran his fingers over the wand, and examined it carefully. “Yes, he nodded, this is the legendary healer's wand. Ancient history records that it had the power to revive the dead.”
“Hakasei,” the doctor explained, “About a week ago in the muggle world, I was requested to examine the bodies of two scientists that were found dead in an excavation in the Nara province. While digging the foundation for a new office building, the Tokugawa corporation had unearthed an ancient tomb. Kanji writing on the walls identified it as belonging to Himiko. Before anything could be examined the two archaeologists suddenly died, and the sarcophagus vanished. I examined the dead men, and I'm sure they were killed by a dark magic spell. I also suspect that the missing casket is now somewhere on this island. I need to confront your divination instructor!”
“I doubt she's left the school,” the headmaster said, “Wait, I think I know how we can locate her. We'll have to search my office, it's been years since I've seen it!”
“Seen what?”, the doctor asked.
“Mahoutokoro's version of the marauders map,” he replied.
Pinoko closed her eyes as she was encircled in a blinding light. Her head was spinning with a feeling of vertigo and she felt an intense wave of nausea flow over her. Gradually her head cleared, and she could see her surroundings. She was chained against a wall, with manacles around her wrists inside of a dark dungeon. In the center of the room lay a jade sarcophagus. A woman wearing a jade green robe, turned towards Pinoko. Her face was covered by a mask, and she held a wand in her right hand.
“Glad you could pop in, my dear!”, the witch told Pinoko. “I hope those manacles aren't too tight.”
Pinoko faced her captor and yelled out, “You'd better let me go or Sensei will get even with you!”
“Don't worry child,” the witch replied, “You were brought here to insure your doctor friends cooperation.”
There was a sudden flash of light as another apparition flashed a few feet from the sarcophagus. Akio staggered about as he also fought off feelings of vertigo and nausea. He looked around the dungeon and seemed to recognize his surroundings. Akio laid a hand on the sarcophagus. “Mother, I am here!”, he said.
“Don't worry child,” Kitaoka told him, “We will soon revive your mother, our queen! Do you have the obsidian mirror?”
“Yes, it's in my robe pocket,” Akio replied.
“Hand it to me!”, Kitaoka demanded, “We need the doctor and his wand!” She took the mirror from the boy's hand and waved her wand over it while reciting an incantation. “When I had you back this mirror you will be transported back to the classrooms. Find Black Jack Sensei and have him touch the mirror while it is still in your hand. You both will then be transported back here!”
Hokusai removed a huge pile of books from the corner of the study to reveal a wooden chest. He made his way over to his desk drawer and fumbled through one of the bottom drawers searching through its contents. Finally, he retrieved a ward key, and then walked back towards the chest. It took him several seconds to get the key in its lock, and open the chest. The headmaster then began to remove item after item from the dusty storage vessel. Finally, he came up with a scroll. “A ha!” he laughed, I've found it!.
Hokusai walked back to his desk and unrolled the old parchment. He had to push the clutter of items on his desk to the side to make room for the large sheet. The doctor scratched his head as there wasn't much drawn on the so called map, just the outline of the island and the school's main building.
“How will this be of any help?”, the doctor asked.
“This map is a twin to a similar one that is hidden somewhere at the Hogwarts school. A few students there conjured up a means of knowing the whereabouts of all personal and hidden rooms in the castle and neighboring areas. Their idea wasn't new, Himiko herself had created such an enchanted map for Mahoutokoro. This one has the power to update itself to reflect the current state of affairs, unlike the one at Hogwarts.”
“But it's blank,” the doctor said.
“That's because I haven't activated it yet,” the headmaster laughed. “When not in use the map becomes a rather plain bit of doodle.” Hokusai waved his wand over the parchment, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good”, he spoke.
Suddenly, the scroll began to draw images on itself. The details of every hallway, room, and passageway appeared. Small caricatures identified by their known names moved about the map. “There you can now see every detail of the school, and the location of every person.” The headmaster pointed to the location of his study on the map. “Here we are,” he said, pointing to where he and the doctor stood.
“Where is Pinoko?” the doctor asked.
“Lets find her,” Mahoutokoro said waving his wand over the map. Suddenly one of the points of interest started flashing. The doctor placed his finger on the map over the area that had become highlighted.
“That appears to be a hidden chamber,” the headmaster noticed. “See how it isn't connected to anything else on the map. It must be a buried area in the original castle.” The two of them looked more carefully at the map. “I see seven caricatures,” Mahoutokoro noticed. “I don't know these three,” he pointed, “and there are Kitaoka, Pinoko, and Akio.”
“And this one?” the doctor asked pointing.
“I don't recognize the Kanji for that name,” the headmaster said.
“I think I do,” Black Jack suddenly realized. “It was carved into the tomb where Himiko's sarcophagus had been unearthed.”
“Where is that chamber, and how can I get there?” the doctor demanded.
“The map seems to indicate that it is located deep under the dining hall of the castle,” the headmaster replied. “The original Mahoutokoro was built on this island several thousand years ago. Some time in the distant past, probably before the fall of the Roman Empire, the island of Minami-Iōtō erupted for the final time and buried the original structures. The school was rebuilt on top of the ruins of the old. Some areas of the original Mahoutokoro are still intact, buried deep underground. It seems that our divination instructor has discovered the exact whereabouts of Himiko's original throne room and a dungeon. The only way to get there would be by apparition, but to do that you'd have to know exactly where you wanted to go. We may have to wait for her to contact you.”
“Somehow, I don't think that she will leave me waiting very long,” Black Jack replied.
Akio took back the mirror, and was instantly transported back to the classroom area. His head felt like he was spinning rapidly and once again he fought the feeling of vertigo and nausea. As his eyes came back into focus, he saw that he was now standing just outside the headmasters study. He noticed that the door was just barely ajar, and he could see into the room though the crack. Black Jack Sensei was inside, talking to Hokusai Hakasei.
The boy pushed the heavy oak door open all the way, and barged into the room. He ran towards the doctor and thrust the obsidian mirror at the doctor. Before Kuro sidestep out of Akio's way, his left wrist came into contact with the edge of the mirror. There was a sudden flash of light, and both the doctor and the boy dissolved. They reappeared in the dungeon, standing between the sarcophagus and the wall where Pinoko was chained up.
Kuro easily shook off the feeling of disorientation caused by the effect of being transported by the portkey. He quickly stuffed the map that he had been holding in his right hand at the time of the boy's entrance into the headmaster's office, into his right gown pocket where is wand was. Upon noticing Pinoko chained to the wall, he quickly turned and faced the divination instructor with his right hand outstretched, the wand held tightly in it.
“Release Pinoko at once!” the doctor yelled.
“Or you'll do what?” Kitaoka cried out, her wand also at the ready. “I don't think you've been schooled in the dark arts, have you?”
The doctor answered by mentally cited the disarming incantation. His wand shot out a blue flame towards Kitaoka. However, the divination professor was prepared, and she had a counter curse ready, her wand spitting out a red bolt of lightning. The two bursts of energy collided in the middle of the dungeon, canceling each other out with a loud thunderclap.
“I've dueled with wizards more powerful than you!”, the doctor replied. “Perhaps you've heard of Voldermort?”
“Really?”, Kitaoka asked, trying to look unimpressed. She quickly redirected her wand and shot a curse towards Pinoko. The doctor's assistant now found herself enveloped inside of a translucent sphere. “Don't worry, I haven't hurt her. But only I can remove that shield that surrounds her. She's in no danger of suffocating the energy wall allows fresh air in and out, but you can't reach the chains that bind her.”
“I'll kill you!”, the doctor yelled in anger, his wand aimed at her.
“Do that and you'll never free Pinoko!”, Kitaoka laughed. “Only I can break that curse.”
“A curse will die with it's creator,” the doctor answered.
“Are you going to test that belief?” she asked. “By all means do so!”
The doctor fought to control his rage, he wasn't sure that what he had been told about curses at Hogwarts was true in all cases. He couldn't take the chance. With great difficulty, he gave in and asked, “Why? What do you want from me?”
“Much better!”, the divination professor sweetly spoke. “It's not as horrible as you imagine. I simply want you to do what you've always done, perform your healing magic. You will revive the great Himiko who as been sleeping for several millennia now.”, she replied pointing towards the sarcophagus.
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Re: Mahoutokoro
Eight
In Himiko's Power
Minami-Iōtō Island
Akio fought against the intense feeling of nausea and vertigo after being transported by the portkey for a second time. He saw the doctor standing next to the sarcophagus, with his hand approaching the lid about to open the burial box. “NO!”, he yelled, running towards Black Jack with his wand raised. “Don't touch it, Sensei!”
The doctor whirled around on the balls of his feet to face the boy. “Akio”, he said, “How are you involved in this?”
“Himiko is his mother!”, Kitaoka spoke, “The boy is our Queen's reincarnated son!”
“I must be the first one to see mother's earthly remains,” the boy demanded. He pushed Kuro aside and held his wand over the sarcophagus. With his eyes closed, Akio started to chant an ancient incantation. His voice changed to a lower octave as he sang the spell.
“He sounds like he's hypnotized,” Pinoko said from across the room.
There was a spooky sound coming from the sarcophagus, as the rusty hinges of the lid moved. The lid of the box slowly raised to a vertical position. It hovered there for a second before falling backwards to the floor where it shattered into several pieces.
Black Jack slowly approached the now open container. There, lying in state was the mummy of Japan's first female ruler. Her body was rapped in ancient linen that had been soaked in some kind of preservative solution which had left a dark yellow stain. Covering the head of the mummy was a Jade death mask, inlaid with gold leaf. The mask was a perfect rendition of the queen's face, looking exactly like the oil painting that the doctor had seen hanging in the headmaster's study.
“You will now revive the great Himiko, Queen of the Japans and my Mother!”, Akio forced the words out.
“I may have the Asclepius wand, but I don't know the spell to raise the dead,” Black Jack replied, facing Kitaoka. “And I won't do anything you ask as long as you have Pinoko chained to that wall!”
From out of the shadows in the back of the dungeon, three wizards in gray robes emerged. They walked towards Kitaoka, carrying their wands and walking staffs.
“If you can't, or won't do as I ask then I will take that wand from your dead hands and one of my Wizards will do it!”. Kitaoka yelled.
“That won't work, I'm afraid.” A fourth wizard, wearing a white robe and a hood over his head spoke.
“And why not!”, Kitaoka demanded.
“Because the wand will only work for a descendant of the original wizards of Wu!”
The forth wizard slowly removed his hood and revealed his face. The doctor looked at him, puzzled. “Headmaster! What is going on here?”
Hokusai shrugged his shoulders as he spoke to the doctor. “I admit that I played along with you, but I had to be sure, as a lot depended on you being who we thought you were, and that your wand was really the legendary one. I had hoped things would have worked out a bit differently, Sensei,” he said in a apologetic tone. He turned towards Kitaoka and addressed her, “Release the doctor's assistant, I think we can obtain his help without the use of threats.”
“I suppose so,” the divination instructor gave in. She flicked her wand in Pinoko's direction and the chains simply vanished in a puff of smoke. Pinoko ran towards the doctor's side.
The headmaster then turned toward Black Jack. “It could not have been a coincidence that you brought both the healing wand, and the boy to Mahoutokoro. Don't you know your own history and that of the wand which you carry?”
The doctor faced the headmaster, “The wand claimed me at Hogwarts. It had been in the possession of an Augustus Slytherin,” Kuro answered. “Augustus was a patient of mine, and he claimed to be the ancestor of an ancient healer who had been the original owner of the wand. The wand had been passed down through many generations of the house of Slytherin, but none were ever able to use it. It was at Hogwarts that the wand claimed me.”
“Augustus lied to you!”, the headmaster stated. “There was never any member of the Slytherin clan that was a healer. The house of Slytherin is a house of thieves! They secreted the Asclepius wand out of Wu during an accidental encounter eons ago.”
“But Asclepius was Greek and the Slytherin house seal is a serpent,” the doctor spat back, “The same image as on the wand!”.
“It is not!”, Hokusai laughed. “Perhaps that's what the Slytherins would want everyone to believe, perhaps that's why they invented the story after the their theft of the wand. The Greeks may have seen the wand after it arrived in Europe, and they made use of the image for themselves. But getting back to your ancestry, didn't you wonder why you, an Asian, were claimed by the wand when it was in Europe for millennia?”
“The thought did cross my mind,” the doctor replied.
“The sorcerers of Europe have the gall to believe that they are the master race, that the origin of magic started with them,” Hokusai laughed. “Japanese Wizards and Witches can trace our lineage thousands of years further back than the Europeans could ever hope to! Your wand chose you because your ancestry goes back to Himiko herself! Surly you realized this the instant the wand placed itself into your hand!
“I felt only surprise and shock,” Black Jack replied. “I still did not accept the fact that I was not a Muggle. But the Hogwarts sorting hat did identify my ancestry as going back to Slytherin and Mahoutokoro.”
“The sorting hat connected you with Slytherin only because the wand was in their possession. It knew your bloodline went back to the time of Himiko, but it had to place you somewhere in Hogwarts, it could do nothing else for that is its purpose. Since you were brought to Hogwarts for a reason, the hat put you where you could do them the most good, hence the same house that the Potter boy was in. Now as far as your real history, I'm sure the knowledge was transferred to you through the wand,” the Headmaster replied.
“Perhaps, I could help,” the divination instructor said. “Bring the doctor to me!” Kitaoka demanded.
Hokusai grabbed Kuro by his shoulder, and pushed him towards the throne. “Ascend Sensei!”, Kitaoka commanded.
Black Jack approached the throne, walking up the few steps toward Kitaoka. She held the large obsidian mirror in front of the doctor's eyes. “Stare into the mirror and concentrate!” she told him. “Think about the instant that the wand joined with you!”
Kuro did as he was asked, he remembered Augustus Slytherin sitting in his wheelchair sliding the ancient box from his robe pocket and opening it revealing the wand. The doctor remembered reaching for it. He stared into the dark mist hanging in the mirror, and saw the cloudy surface clear. The mirror now reflected the image of Dumbledore's study, and he saw the box sitting in Augustus's lap. Barely visible, on the side of the box there were Kanji characters carved into the wood. How did he not notice this before? Hokusai was right, the wand was Japanese!
He saw the wand disappear from the box and he felt it in his hand. Then Dumbledore's study dissolved and he found himself standing under cherry blossoms. He now was wearing a Kimono and Geta wooden clog sandals, and had a Katana in a leather sheath attached to a belt. “Face me Kuro!”, he heard.
The doctor turned slightly and saw Himiko seated on her jade throne. Her fingers were adorned with jade rings inlaid with gold leaf. “This is your past Sensei,” she told him. “Here in kingdom of Yamatai, in the land of Wu! This is where your ancestors first practiced their sorcery, and the wand that the heretics in Europe called the Rod of Asclepius was created. I created it!”
“You?”, the doctor asked.
“Yes,” the ancient witch Queen voiced. “There was a horrible plague that took hold in Yamatai, a curse that I brought upon myself. I had already established peace throughout Wu, and had established Mahoutokoro in a secret location on a far away volcanic island to preserve Japans magical might. But the Shoguns were jealous of what I'd accomplished. They wanted it for themselves. Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa was the worst of them all. I was forced to create a curse against him, but unknown to me, he had his own wizards. They were able to deflect my curse against Yamatai. To protect my people, I absorbed it all, and commanded that I be entombed. My body was to be mummified so I could be brought back to life after a thousand years by the future holder of the wand that I created.”
“But you've been gone longer than that!” the doctor voiced.
“We can thank the Slytherins for that!”, Himiko growled. “But, that is now past! The rightful descendant of the kingdom of Yamatai now holds the wand! You will bring me back and I will again take my place as the rightful ruler of Wu!”
“I will, my Queen!” Black Jack replied. “But I don't yet know how.”
“You already have the knowledge,” Himiko told him, “But,it will take a little time for it to come to the surface.”
Mahoutokoro
Pinoko kicked the doctor in his butt. “Sensei, wake up, snap out of it!"
The doctor gradually became aware of his assistant tugging on his robe, and the strange vision he was seeing dissolved. He found himself back in the schools classroom area, in the Potions classroom.
“That was weird,” he told Pinoko.
“What was weird?” his assistant asked.
“We were both in a dungeon, and you were chained to a wall,” Kuro said. “Then I think I was talking to Queen Himiko.”
“Is that who you were speaking to in that mirror?” she asked.
“What?” the doctor asked.
“We WERE in a dungeon, and I WAS chained to a wall. That bitch divination instructor let me go after the headmaster told her to. They're all in on it! This is worse than that Warlock Voldermort was!”
“How did we get out of the dungeon?”, the doctor asked.
“I think you did that with your wand,” Pinoko said.
“Then why don't I remember anything and you do?”
“I don't know,” Pinoko sighed. Although I think Akio might have had something to do with it. While the headmaster and that Kitaoka witch were working on you, he winked at me and seemed to cast a spell in our direction. That's when I kicked you, and you waved your wand.”
“Oh,” Kuro sighed. He pulled his wand from a robe pocket and imagined what he wanted. He waved the wand in front of the desk, and two tall mugs appeared. One contained a warm golden liquid, the other an icecream float. “Perhaps some refreshment might help us.” the doctor laughed. “A Pinoko special for you, and a warm sake for me!”
Nara city, Nara province
Atom illuminated the chamber with his eye's search lamps. Reno followed him. The boy carried a high resolution video camera, and he carefully photographed the interior of the tomb. “I need to capture all the details in here, Atomu. Hopefully, I can make some sense of all of this back at the ministry of science using our computers.”
“I hope so,” the boy robot replied. “Has the prefecture given Tokugawa permission to begin his construction?”
“Not yet, but it won't be much longer,” Reno sighed. “That's why I need to gather as much data here as quickly as possible. The Tokugawa corporation will be blasting out the foundations for their new office tower the day they get their permits validated. Ochanomizu Hakase has delayed things as long as he could, but Tokugawa has out lawered him.”
“I was afraid of that,” Atom replied.
“Do you sense anything?” Reno asked.
“Not really,” Atom answered. “This place seems quite dead now.”
“Very funny,” Reno said. “This IS a tomb.”
“I wasn't trying to make a joke,” Atom spat back. “I mean it, this place seems dead.”
“Given that you don't feel human emotions, that kinda worries me,” the boy replied.
“It's just that I can't put what my sensors are telling me into any other words that would make sense to you,” Atom voiced. “I think we should get out of here.”
“Well, I've done all I can do for now,” Reno agreed. “Lets get back to the surface.”
The two friends turned about and quickly made their way towards the ramp leading upwards. As they got near the opening, the ground started to vibrate. They picked up their pace, but the air was starting to fill with dust. Atom grabbed his friend by his waist and rocketed them both towards the daylight. As they flew out of the entrance to the underground chamber, the entire excavation caved in, spitting a huge cloud of dust from the entrance.
“I guess you were right!”, Reno gasped. “Thanks for getting us out of there just in time!”
“Let's get back to the lab,” Atom told him. “You're going to want to download the data my sensors have collected.”
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Re: Mahoutokoro
Nine
Himiko's Story
Minami-Iōtō Island
“What did you do?”, Kitaoka yelled at Akio.
“I released Sensei from your grip,” the boy voiced. “Mother will set him right,” he added, fishing the small obsidian mirror from his robe pocket and holding it up. “It wasn't necessary to hold Pinoko captive. The doctor will return to the dungeon on his own, once he hears mother's story.”
The red color of the divination instructor's face faded as she considered what the boy had said. She slowly realized that her connection with the witch queen wasn't as strong as Akio's, and for good reason. Himiko had been using her to get what she needed, the power of the doctor's healing wand, and her reincarnated son. She had little need for the divination instructor, except as a medium. Kitaoka slowly accepted this.
“Very well,” she replied, handing the large mirror to the boy. “But you may need this.”
Ministry of Science, Tokyo
Professor Ochanomizu found Reno and Atom in the computer lab. The boy robot's chest panel was open, and he was connected to the main frame computer via a thick network cable.
“What's going on,” the professor asked.
“The tomb is gone, Hakase,” Reno answered. “Atom got me out of the excavation just in time before the whole thing caved in. I used the ground penetrating radar unit, and it showed nothing there.”
“That's the same device that we used to map out the size of the tomb before we entered it,” the professor said.
“Yeah, but the readings didn't show a cave in, they showed solid rock!”, Reno countered. “It's as if there had never been a tomb.”
“Well then I guess I might as well let Tokugawa continue his construction,” Ochanomizu sighed. “How could an underground chamber not only cave in, but become solid rock in a few minutes?”, he questioned. “That borders on magic.”
“I think Black Jack Sensei would agree with you there,” the professor laughed. “Did Atom's sensors reveal anything?”
“The download has just finished,” Reno said as he disconnected his robotic best friend from the computer. “Let's have a look at the readings.”
Reno tapped on the keyboard and brought up several graphical displays.
“This is what was done there moments before the cave in,” Reno said. “You can see that there was some kind of electromagnetic static just prior to the cave in. Quite an energy pulse actually.”
“I felt the cave in starting before it actually did,” Atom said. “That's when I grabbed you and flew towards the opening. But you may be right that we experienced more than just a cave in. It may not have been magic, but if I understand the meaning of the word, it certainly was a nearly unexplainable event.”
“Reno, you said you had translated the writings on the wall?”, the professor asked.
“Yes, Hakase,” Reno replied. “There isn't much in the Japanese history books about Himiko, though she is recorded in ancient Chinese writings. Himiko lived in the era when Japan was either still part of China, or just becoming an independent country. Part of the reason for Himiko not being part of Japan's official history may be due to the location of her seat of power. She is written in both Chinese and Japanese legends as ruling from the kingdom of Yamatai. Yamatai, is Japan's version of Atlantis, an area that is supposed to have disappeared without a trace. Some people claim that the current province of Nara is where Yamatai's ruling clan magically transported the capital of Yamatai. Perhaps that's why we found Himiko's tomb in Nara City.”
“Sounds like a load of poppycock to me,” the professor huffed.
“Maybe so.”, Reno laughed. “Now as for the inscriptions on the tomb walls, I've managed to translate one large section of it. The text says that in the final days of the lost kingdom, and Himiko's rule, a plague threatened the people of Yamatai, a plague that was being spread by Himiko herself. To protect her people, she and her son were entombed along with every member of the royal family that had been exposed to the infection. Himiko had put a curse on the shogun who had opposed her, but she believed that her curse had backfired on her due to the action of wizards aligned with the shogun.”
“Which shogun?” Ochanomizu asked.
“The first, Ieyasu Tokugawa.” Reno replied.
“The ancestor of the current day industrialist with the same name,” the professor laughed.
“No doubt”, Reno agreed.
Mahoutokoro
Dr. Black Jack reached into his robe pocket to replace his wand there, and felt something else deep in the bottom of the recess. He removed it for examination. It was a dark, obsidian mirror with a long handle. The doctor held the face of the mirror's dark surface up to his face and looked into it.
“What's this?”, he voiced.
“Looks like a smaller version of the large mirror that the bitch Katana had you mesmerized with,” Pinoko warned. “I wouldn't mess with that.”
Pinoko's concern was voiced a bit too late. Himiko's image appeared before the doctor's eyes.
“I've willed myself free of your control, Queen Himiko,” the doctor spoke into the mirror.
“Have you?”, the queen asked. “I need to continue your education in history. My son broke the spell of concentration that Katana had thrown on you when she had you gaze into her mirror to contact me. It was then that I realized my servant had more of her own self interest in mind when she brought you to me. Now it will only be your own magic and a bit of mine that will connect us. Stare into the mirror that my son has provided you, and we shall converse.”
“No tricks!”, the doctor warned as he removed the wand from his robe pocket with his other hand.
“No tricks,” the witch queen promised, “But I will need to transport your conciseness to my world. You can break the spell anytime you want by pulling the mirror away from your eyes.”
“Very well,” the doctor agreed.
He concentrated on the dark reflective surface of the obsidian mirror. Gradually his own reflection faded and he found his conciseness drawn into the mirror. He was standing in the throne room of the ancient castle, standing in front of Queen Himiko who was dressed in her royal robes, and wearing her jade crown that was inlaid with gold leaf. To his left, he could see the landscape of ancient Wu, in the kingdom of Yamatai. Standing next to Himiko stood Akio, next to his mother. Off to the side of the throne, were Headmaster Hokusai and divination instructor Kitaoka, their wrists bound by leather straps.
“What is going on here?” the doctor gasped.
“My son, the current headmaster, and my former servant Kitaoka present in your vision,” Himiko explained. They are sharing this experience, with some restraints. Now to continue.... Many millennia ago, what you know know as Japan was called Wu, and was ruled by the emperors of what you now call China. Gradually, the Ninja and the Samurai wrestled control of our islands from the forces of the mainland, with the help of magicians, warlocks and witches. We didn't hide our magic from the general population of the land, and we were benevolent in actions toward the muggle population. We saw ourselves as a power for good, we recognized that we were no different from those without the ability, and our power was a gift that required responsibility, at least most of us did.
I foresaw that as the magical interbred with the non, magickind could die out, and that there was a need to insure that our kind would continue. So I sought to create a center of magical continuation, a school that would insure that those born with the gift would meet others so gifted, and gain the knowledge of using their abilities to the greatest extent. This to insure that the magical community would not be bred out of existence, nor be so inbred as to die out from depravity. I looked for a place to establish this institute far away from the muggle population where they would not find it. It was on the volcanic Minami-Iōtō Island that I established it. The choice wasn't perfect, the volcano erupted twice during our existence, and the school had to rebuilt twice.
I originally established my seat of power in the heart of Yamatai, but I also kept a second throne at Mahoutokoro. For several score years the land of Wu flourished, and we successfully repelled attempts of invasion from the mongols. My kingdom had splintered into many provenances, each with their own local ruler who swore his allegiance to my throne. For a time this pose no threat, but over time these local rulers became despots who were power hungry. This lead to the rise of the shoguns. Eventually one of them sought to control all of Wu, and he sought, and found the allegiance of a corrupt warlock to depose of me.”
“Let me guess,” Black Jack interrupted, “Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan's first Shogun.”
“You know that part of your history very well,” Himiko congratulated him. “Tokugawa had many followers. He quickly invaded neighboring provenances and was advancing his armies of Ninjas and Samurai toward my capital. Even more threatening, he learned the location of Mahoutokoro, and sought to destroy it. The warlocks under my control could have defended the school, but Ieyasu had his own wizards loyal to the Shogun that marched with his army. I had no choice but to unloose a horrible curse against him.”
“I take it that didn't go well,” the doctor asked.
“Hardly!,” the witch queen sighed. His wizards had acquired great powers. To ward them off, I created four power wands. All but one of them were capable of great destruction, the fourth wand was for defense. Sadly, it was stolen from me by a rouge wizard who betrayed me, and it fell into Tokugawa's hands. As you have probably guessed, that wand is the one you now hold. I unloosed my curse to create a horrible plague to smite Tokugawa and his wizards, but he had the wand you call the Asclepius wand, and was able to turn my curse against me. I ordered my own entombment, along with all that fell victim to the plague to contain it. Yamatai fell to the Shogun, but Mahoutokoro didn't. The volcano the school sat upon erupted and buried. it. The wizards at the school were able to save themselves with a powerful spell. They remained in status until the time of the Shogun had passed, and Mahoutokoro's existence had been forgotten. Then the school was rebuilt, and Wu's magical culture was slowly reborn.”
Black Jack fondled the wand in his left hand. “And this?” he asked.
“The wand was lost for centuries, until European wizards arrived on Japan's shores. The Europeans were part of their world's awakening from a long dark sleep. They discovered the wand and one of their group took it home with him. When I created the wand, I enchanted it so it would never serve anyone who was had no Asian blood in his veins. The wand lie dormant, passed from father to son, serving non of them, until you picked it up. The stories of a great healer using it may have been true, it's possible that the Crusader who stole it took an Asian bride with him and had an heir that inherited it. Then that bloodline died out and the wand never found another one worthy of it, until you.”
“And what about the other three power wands?” the doctor inquired.
“They were created to be weapons of war,” Himiko explained. “A powerful wizard could lay an entire army to waste with one of them, they could yield very dark and powerful spells. Yet, the wizards of the shogun were very much a match for those of Yamatai. After my kingdoms fall, the three remaining power wands were hidden, one was buried with me in my tomb, one was hidden within the grounds of Mahoutokoro, and the location of the third is unknown to me. It may have been discovered by the same Europeans that took position of the wand you now carry.”
Black Jack slowly waved his wand in front of the mirror, not fast enough to cast any spells, just enough for it to be noticed by Himiko. “You made plans to come back though?”, he spat out.
“I had hoped that it would be possible,” the queen said. “Hidden within the walls of the school, I left several enchanted obsidian mirrors. My spirit would be awakened when one of them was used by someone skilled in divination. I waited while the centuries passed. The school was rebuilt, only to become buried under a second volcanic eruption. It was rebuilt again, this time much grander than ever before. Many of the ruins of the original structure were unearthed, and inside of one chamber my largest obsidian was discovered. My soul finally was reawakened when Kitaoka Keiko first gazed into it. I was able to put her under my control, I gave her the honorific Mahōtsukai, and instructed her to gather a cult to bring about my return. I instructed her to find the Asclepius wand, or the wizard who now held it. I needed the involvement of the current headmaster of Mahoutokoro, and with Kitaoka's help I brought him into the cult. The only problem was that my earthly remains were lost. My sealed tomb was buried along with my seat of power as the Shogun ransacked Yamatai, and wiped it off of all maps. Until my sarcophagus was rediscovered there would be no way to bring me back.”
“But it was discovered.”, the doctor answered.
“Yes, the greatest of all ironies,” Himiko laughed. “The distant heir of the Shogan that had destroyed me was responsible for rediscovering my tomb. As soon as the seals of the chamber were broken, the spell that I'd left behind caused the holder of the mirror to know it. Kitaoka sent her wizards to recover my sarcophagus, and to destroy any trace of the tomb's existence. And now you will bring me back to life so I can continue my reign where I left off!”
“I have my conditions,” the doctor announced.
“Name them!”, Himiko cried back, “but do not take me lightly!”
“One,” the doctor announced. “You will release headmaster Hokusai from your power.”
“Agreed!,” the queen replied. “Headmaster Hokusai Matsuura is too strong headed to effectively control, I have only had a modest grip on him anyway. Done!”
“Two,” the doctor added, “You will also release Kitaoka Keiko.”
“She may still be useful to me,” Himiko protested.
“Then you will regain her support without magical coercion.”
“That I CAN do. Also agreed and Done!”
“Three, free the boy Akio.”
“He is my son!”, the queen protested. “He will rule Wu along side me!”
“Only if that is truly his desire by his own free will,” the doctor demanded. “I know that the Buddhists believe in reincarnation, but few people save for the Dali Lama can claim to remember their past lives.”
“Then I will attempt to prove to Akio that his kokoro is that of my son. I won't use magic to implant that belief in his mind, but you will allow me to use my powers of divination to show him that it is true.”
“I will oversee that!”, Black Jack said.
“Very well,” Himiko agreed.
“Finally, you will not retake your seat of power in Japan by any act of force or magic!”, the doctor threw down. “The world in the 21st century is quite different from the world you once knew. I've seen how the magical world can exist along side the muggle world from inside of Hogwarts. I also fear that magic will soon lose to technology. Mankind no longer fears what it doesn't understand, for we now have enough science knowledge to quickly discovery how to defeat such threats. If magickind is to survive, it must hide itself from the non-magical world, and only provide silent support with a shove here and there.”
“NO!”, Himiko protested.
“Then you remain where you are!”, the doctor answered, as he pocketed the mirror and his wand.
Ancient Yamatai dissolved before the doctor's eyes, and he again found himself in the empty classroom. The first thing he saw was the worried face of Pinoko. “You scare me Sensei!” she sobbed.
“Don't worry Pinoko,” Black Jack said, running his hands though her hair. “I think I've got this.”
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Re: Mahoutokoro
Ten
Across the Wizarding World
Hogwarts
Sybil Trelawney fell asleep in front of her crystal ball. Her classroom was the top of one of the tallest towers in the Hogwarts castle, and it was in a room adjacent to that classroom where she had her private quarters. Trelawney preferred to have her sleeping quarters up in the tower, away from both the dormitories of both the students and the staff. It was quiet at night up in the tower, well except for the sounds of owls that roosted up in the roof. Sometimes during the night, she would have difficulty in sleeping and would peer into a crystal ball, or an obsidian mirror. It was during these late night (or early morning) divination sessions that her mind could unwind and relax, however more often that not, she'd find herself waking up with her face pressed against the seer's window
The divination instructor felt a cold wave against her spine. She'd had a dream that she only partly remembered the details of, but what she did recall frightened her deeply. Trelawney quickly threw on her robe and slippers, and ran down the spiral staircase towards the lower levels of the castle.
Albus Dumbledore was startled out of bed by the loud booming of the heavy iron knocker on the door to his quarters. Grumbling, he reached for his wand that he'd left on the night table next to his bed and he enchanted the light spell. The tip of his wand glowed bright enough for him to see the candle holder on the table. He touched the tip of the wand to the wick, and then picked up the candle holder. Albus slowly made his way to the door, and he slid open the view hole. He could see the face of his divination instructor, the thick lenses of her spectacles clearly identified. Dumbledore opened the door and bade Sybill to enter.
“What brings you to my quarters at this time of the night?”, the headmaster questioned.
“I'm sorry to have disturbed your sleep at this hour,” Trelawney apologized, “But I seem to have experienced a very disturbing dream, one that I fear may foretell a future catastrophe. However, I can't remember the important details.”
“I suppose that this won't wait till the morning,” Albus sighed. “Perhaps we should make use of the pensieve, but it's in my study in the other side of the castle.”
“I'll follow you, if you lead the way,” Sybil begged.
“Very well,” the headmaster replied. He removed his key ring from the hook on the wall where it was hanging, and dropped it into his robe pocket next to his wand.
Dumbledore fumbled with the key in the lock (he was still half asleep), and opened the door to his study. Fawkes squawked once and ruffled his feathers as Trelawney walked past his perch. The headmaster placed the candlestick on his desk and walked towards the back of the study where the pensieve stood, hidden under a blanket. Albus removed the covering from the device, and motioned for Sybill to approach.
The divination instructor leaned over the bowl containing the dark liquid, and stared into it, as she would her crystal ball. Her eyes glazed over slightly. “Do you recall what you saw earlier?”, Dumbledore asked.
“Yes, it's partly there,” she voiced.
Albus produced his wand and gently touched its tip to Trelawney's head and pulled a silken thread out. He deposited this into the bowl, and repeated the procedure several times more.
“Yes, I think you've got it,” she silently spoke.
The headmaster stood next to the divination teacher and peered into the liquid in the bowl. Gradually, her dream unfolded in front of his eyes, as if he was experiencing it himself. Dumbledore found himself in a throne room inside of an ancient castle. Through a large open doorway leading to a court yard he could see the sea in the distance. It was clear that the castle was built atop a mountainous island. Sitting on the throne was an Asian woman wearing a jade crown, and holding a wand and a scepter. The headmaster knew his history, and he immediately recognized the landscape as being part of the Japans, probably where the Mahoutokoro school was located. He then saw a band of wizards standing over an open sarcophagus containing the mummy of the Asian queen he had just seen on the throne. The last thing that flashed before his vision was a familiar doctor holding a wand with two snakes coiled around it, standing in front of the sarcophagus. He lifted his gaze from the pensieve's bowl as the vision faded.
“Does my dream make any sense to you?”, Trelawney asked.
“I'm not sure,” the headmaster replied. “Your vision seems to be located in the Japans, most likely at the Wizarding school of Mahoutokoro. I've visited there once before during a wizards council meeting, nearly half a century ago. If I remember my history, that school was founded by Japan's first queen, a witch named Himiko. You seem to have seen her in the flesh, as well as her mummy. This was very confusing to me, however the last part of the vision was that of Dr. Black Jack near her sarcophagus, holding his wand.”
“Dr. Black Jack?”, Sybil asked.
“Yes, he was student here at Hogwarts last year, I don't think he was ever in any of your divination classes however. He was actually here to help us solve a medical problem resulting from a partial resurrection of Tom Riddle, better known as “He who must not be mentioned”. It was while Dr. Black Jack was here, that he discovered his latent magical abilities and acquired the ancient 'wand of Asciepius'. He was holding that wand over the mummy. Now if I remember my history correctly, that wand did have the power of bringing back the dead.”
“Then my dream may have been a warning that Himiko was trying to return from beyond,” Trelawney voiced. “Perhaps she was in contact via a divination medium at Mahoutokoro.”
“That is a possibility, though it seems that her long lost burial chamber may have been unearthed. I don't think she was entombed at the school, legend has it that her seat of power was somewhere in the main island chain of the Japans,” Dumbledore thought out loud.
“Are we, or anyone in Japan in danger?”, the divination teacher worried.
“I don't think that Himiko was anything close to Voldermort in evil,” the headmaster replied, “But if she does reemerge into the wizarding world the ripple effects could be a disaster.”
“Perhaps we should send someone from Hogwarts over there under some pretext to access the situation,” Sybil suggested.
“An excellent suggestion!”, Dumbledore smiled. “But subtlety is important here. The reason for the visit must not suggest we know about Himiko. I think a trusted student might make a better spy than one of our professors.”
Behind her thick glasses, Dumble noticed a glint in Trelawney's eyes.
“You have an idea, Sybil?”, he asked.
“Didn't the Japanese wizarding council invite the Quidditch committee to discuss rules changes this year?”, she asked.
“Actually, they did!”, the headmaster laughed. “That's perfect! I'm sure that Harry Potter would love to represent Hogwarts at the meeting, which if I recall takes place in a few days. I think I can convince our Mr. Hawksworth to step down and allow Mr. Potter to represent Hogwarts. I'll have to send an owl to Ryotaro Tanaka letting him know about the change.”
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Re: Mahoutokoro
Eleven
Harry Potter in Japan
Mahoutokoro Quidditch Field
Dr. Black Jack knocked on Ryotaro Tanaka's door. The Quidditch team's instructor opened the door slowly to admit the doctor. “Welcome Sensei,” he spoke. “I understand you've met a Mr. Harry Potter?”
“Yes, he's a student at Hogwarts,” Kuro replied. “I was there about a year ago after I treated an elder member of one of their founding houses. They asked for my help to solve a medical issue that had magical ramifications. Potter worked along side of me since he had some background of the problem due to research he was doing for Professor Dumbledore. Why do you ask?”
“It should have been mentioned to you that Mahoutokoro is hosting the semi annual Quidditch committee meeting this year. The committee is made up of members from international wizarding schools that have winning records in the sport. Usually the schools send the team leader as their representative, or sometimes someone from the student body. I've gotten an owl from Hogwarts headmaster that their Mr. Hawksworth, has stepped down as their representative for this years meeting and that their star seeker will be coming in his stead”.
“And that would be Mr. Potter,” the doctor replied.
“Exactly. I'd like you to escort Harry Potter about the school, being that you've already met.”
“Yes, of course,” Black Jack replied. “Although our headmaster has given me some other assignments.”
“I'm sure you can handle it though,” Tanaka smiled.
“Yes, of course.”
The doctor entered the classroom, followed by Pinoko. He walked over to the fireplace, and picked up a metal poker from a rack standing on the hearth. Pinoko watched as Kuro stilled the embers at the bottom of the fire pit. “What's up Sensei?” she asked.
“We are expecting a visitor,” he replied. “It seems that the recent events here have become known to the staff at Hogwarts.”
His assistant noticed the small stack of old books on his table, and some notes in the doctor's handwriting made with a quill pen on foolscrape paper next to it. “What's that?”, she asked pointing to it.
“I was doing some research last night,” Kuro explained. “I know know how to revive Himiko, should I decide to do so. I think I've convinced her spirit that it would be in her best interest to cooperate with me. We shall see, but I'll need help. Well the fireplace is ready for our floo visitor, all we have to do now is wait for his appearance.”
Harry Potter stood in front of the fireplace in the headmaster's office. He had a large carpet bag on the floor next to him, with a broomstick attached to the side.
“I've never made such a long distance trip via the Floo network,” he exclaimed.
“Well I think it's a bit too long a journey to travel by broomstick,” Dumbledore laughed, “and you don't have the experience for an apparition of that distance either.”
“You could have set me up a port key,” Potter replied.
“Believe me, that would not have been an experience you'd have wanted to try,” the headmaster answered.
“I suppose so,” Harry nodded. “Well, exactly where are they expecting me to pop up?”
“You will meet their temporary potions instructor in his classroom,” Dumbledore replied. “Clearly announce to the Floo that you wish to be transported to the Potions Classroom at Mahoutokoro. Now hold out your hand.”
Potter did as he was instructed, and the headmaster poured a quantity of floo powder into is open palm. “Good luck, Harry. Keep you eyes open, and your wits about you. You will have an inside friend to assist you. Report back by owl if you find out anything important.”
“Right professor,” Harry agreed. He picked up his packed bag, and took a step towards the fireplace. He clearly announced his destination and tossed the handful of green powder into the flames. There was a flash of fire, and he stepped through the smoke.
Pinoko was briefly startled by the sudden flash from the fireplace, but she recognized the teenager who stepped out through the hearth. “Harry Potter!”, she cried out, “What are you doing here?”
“I'm here for the Quidditch committee meeting,” Potter explained. “Where is the acting potions professor?”
“Right here,” the doctor answered. “The Quidditch instructor told me to expect you. Welcome to Mahoutokoro.”
“I should have guessed it would be you,” Potter replied. “But how did you get involved with the Japan wizarding school?”
“A patient of mine was having 'growing pains', which turned out to be an awakening. Something that I believe you are familiar with. I was the one who eventually brought him to this school where he is now coming to terms with his heritage.”
“I wish I had someone intervene on by behalf earlier in my life,” Harry replied. “But how did you end up as a professor here?”
“Professor Snape gave me a rather good background in the art of potions, and my muggle medical skills also provided a good background. It seems that Mahoutokoro had an opening in the position for a potions instructor, and after accepting my patient as a student here, he begged for me to accept the position. Would you believe that the Hogwarts potions instructor actually gave me a glowing recommendation?”
“Snape?” Harry laughed. “Well if that don't beat all!”
“There's a lot more to him than you've been able to see. I know you think Snape has a deep hatred for you, but I'm sure that's purely and act. There's something wicked brewing at Hogwarts, and it hasn't yet come to the surface. When it does, well I suspect the real professor Snape will emerge.”
“Perhaps,” the boy voiced.
“As for the real reason you are here, “ the doctor spoke again, “I suspect that the Quidditch committee meeting was just a cover story. Hogwarts is worried about the emergence of Himiko just as Voldermort has made his reappearance, am I right?”
“Yes Sensei,” Potter answered. “The headmaster has tasked me with observing what is going on, and to report back to him. But how did you know?”
“Because Dumbledore asked you to arrive here in my classroom, rather than in the Quidditch team area where Ryotaro Tanaka could greet you upon your arrival.” the doctor answered. “I suspect that your headmaster must have seen me in contact with the spirit of Himiko via divination.”
“Yes, Professor Trelawney observed that in a dream,” Potter admitted.
“No doubt Albus must have made use of his pensieve,” the doctor laughed. “Well, we might as finish this off right now. I think I've left her majesty to stir long enough.”
Black Jack, lit a fire to an alcohol burner on his desk, and placed a small cauldron onto a stand just above the flame. He then rummaged through the many jars of potion ingredients that sat on the shelves lining the wall behind his desk. One by one he added measured quantities of the selected jars to the cauldron, and stirred the solution with his wand. He allowed his mix to come to a boil, and then removed it from the flame. The doctor used a rag to pick up the still hot cauldron, and then poured its contents into a small bottle, which he then stoppered with a cork. “OK, I'm ready,” he announced.
Black Jack removed his wand from this robe pocket, and held it high up in his right hand, while placing his left palm on Potter's shoulder. He mentally recalled the necessary spell as he flicked the wand. Gradually, the doctor and the boy dissolved from sight. Pinoko watched as they were transported. “Hey you forget me!” she yelled, to no avail.
Harry Potter rubbed his eyes as the dungeon slowly unevaporated into view. “I'll never get used to your method of apparition doctor. You seem to do it in slow motion, while the usual method is instantaneous.”
“It does have the advantage of not causing vertigo,” Black Jack replied.
“And vomiting,” the boy added.
Potter slowly rotated his head and observed the room that they had teleported into. There was a jade covered throne at one end of the room, and a sarcophagus covered with gold leaf and jade in the middle of the room. Lighting was provided by several torches along the walls. “Where are we?” he asked.
“Some distance below the middle of the original castle that houses the school,” the doctor answered. “I was brought here by Kitaoka, Mahoutokoro's divination professor. It is time to end this one way or the other. Give me a hand will you?”
Black Jack walked over to the sarcophagus, and gripped one side of its lid. Potter grabbed the other side, and the two of them slowly lifted the heavy cover off, and they placed it onto the floor. The doctor then produced a dark obsidian mirror from his robe pocket and waved his wand in front of it.
Once again Himiko's face appeared in the mirror.
“Have you accepted my terms?”, he asked. “I can either reanimate your remains, or destroy them.”
“I agree to your terms,” the ancient queen replied through the mirror.
“Very well, the doctor replied,” He turned to Harry, “Please hold your wand at ready, Mr. Potter. I may need your assistance.” The boy nodded.
Kuro removed the bottle from a robe pocket, and pulled out the cork stopper. He waved his wand over the mummy, while chanting a spell, and slowly allowed a few drops of the mixture to pour out into the sarcophagus. The room filled with a thin fog, as a creepy sound lofted from inside of the ancient box.
The process took several minutes to complete. Himiko's image faded from the mirror, and her voice echoed from within the sarcophagus. “Where am I?” she asked.
“You are in the throne room, deep under the original castle,” the doctor told her. “Please try to rise slowly, but don't even think of trying anything evil, there are two wands at ready pointing at you!”
The witch queen slowly raised her head. The ancient wrappings were slowly falling off her mummy, allowing her to see with her eyes for the first time in many centuries. “Thank you doctor,” she voiced. “The reviving spell seems to work in slow motion, I still feel quite weak and quite helpless I assure you!”
“That is as I intended,” Kuro smiled.
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https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4672860/Tetsuwan-Penguin
I can also be found on Deviant Art http://tetsuwanpenguin.deviantart.com/
My home page
http://scharkalvin.weebly.com/about-me.html
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![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4672860/Tetsuwan-Penguin
I can also be found on Deviant Art http://tetsuwanpenguin.deviantart.com/
My home page
http://scharkalvin.weebly.com/about-me.html
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